(Silver Spring, Md.) – Discovery Communications and Discovery Learning Alliance today announced their participation in CHARGE (The Collaborative for Harnessing Ambition and Resources for Girls’ Education) – a new Clinton Global Initiative Commitment creating a global collective of Government, civil society, and private sector organizations working to advance girls’ education globally, through secondary education and beyond.

With more than 30 partners, including the United States, Nepal, No Ceilings, Pearson, CHIME for Change, and Discovery Communications – CHARGE has already pledged nearly $600 million to reach 15 million girls over the next 5 years.

Discovery Communications and Discovery Learning Alliance are working to further girls’ education around the globe through the Discovery Project, a unique public-private partnership between Discovery Communications and the UK Department for International Development to get more girls in school and learning in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, through the Girls’ Education Challenge.

As part of the CHARGE commitment, the Discovery Project today announced it has expanded its reach and impact on primary and junior secondary school girls in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria. The Discovery Project will improve educational opportunities for marginalized girls, with an increase in reach from 337,000 to 528,000, resulting in 191,000 additional marginalized girls reached. The project will also help develop more effective teachers by increasing its reach of teachers from 8,000 to 11,900, resulting in 3,900 additional trained teachers. The initiative furthers Discovery's commitment to advancing global education through its implementing partner, the Discovery Learning Alliance.

“We know when girls have access to quality education in both primary and secondary schools, cycles of poverty are broken, economies grow, glass ceilings crack and potential is unleashed," said Secretary Clinton. “The scale of this commitment matches the gravity of the challenge. Ensuring every girl receives a quality secondary education will take all of us, governments, civil society, the private sector, multilateral organizations, the entire international community working together.”

The Discovery Project improves student (and in particular girls) outcomes in literacy and numeracy; improves the quality of education through media in the classroom and teacher professional development; increasing girls’ enrollment through community training and engagement activities and creates shifts in knowledge, attitudes and practices around education and specifically girls’ education through “Discovery +,” entertaining, nationally broadcast talk shows.